Critics have not been kind to the latest installment in the DC franchise, “Suicide Squad.” The movie, centered around a crew of super villains assembled by the government to carry out secret missions, was an interesting take on the typical superhero movie. With big names and many characters that have never been on the big screen, it disappointed many who went to see the film. Complaints of unnecessary storylines, weak character development, and not enough Joker seemed to plague reviews. It has become apparent that numerous scenes cut from the movie may have been needed. Is it possible that if more scenes had been left in, "Suicide Squad" wouldn’t be stuck at a dismal 27 percent from Rotten Tomatoes?

With as many characters as "Suicide Squad" had, it would have been impossible to give each character the same amount of screentime. Although the audience learns what motivates Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and Diablo, they are left in the dark when it comes to Killer Croc and Captain Boomerang. If unedited cuts had been left in, critics of the perceived one dimensional villains might have been silenced. Early reports showed a sad upbringing of Killer Croc due to his physical appearance. Despite his outward looks, he had convinced himself that he was beautiful. Edits dropped much about the background of Captain Boomerang, leaving them in would have possibly made him more relatable, especially those that showed him having feelings for Katana. The romance between Rick Flag and June Moon was a small part of the movie, but edited out was a closer look at the relationship between the two. Adding these scenes may not have changed the critics ratings entirely, but they definitely could have added more character depth to important characters.

Jared Leto’s portrayal of Joker is impressive especially considering the amount of effort he put into the role, only to have half of it cut. Granted, we shouldn’t feel too bad considering he was paid millions of dollars, but he really did put in extra effort to become the Clown Prince of Crime. Leto shaved his eyebrows off, cut his hair, and spent months mentally preparing and researching for the role. Stories have been widespread of his method acting, constantly staying in character while onset. While others costumes were more simple than others, Leto’s costume consisted of intricate tattoos and makeup. After all of that work, nearly half of his original screen time was cut. Despite being involved heavily in promotion of the film, Joker was only in the movie for a disappointing fifteen minutes. Jared Leto has openly voiced criticism of the amount of his scenes cut from the movie and has gone so far to say that he was “tricked.”

Many critics have praised Leto’s portrayal of Joker. Their main critique of his performance was that they wanted to see more of him in the movie. Including more scenes with Joker could have resulted in positive reviews of the film. There were even Joker scenes in the theatrical trailer that did not even make it into the final product. Scenes that made the Joker and Harley Quinn’s relationship seem more abusive were cut out. Even though a more loving Joker and Harley relationship may be more appealing to non comic fans, it is more true to past incarnations. Originally the climax of the film was supposed to include Joker, which was shown in the trailers, but was ultimately left out. Critics and fans both wanted to see more of Jared Leto’s Joker would have gotten what they wanted if these scenes had not been cut. In some theaters viewers expecting Joker to be much more of a focus in the film even walked out. He originally played a far greater role, but those scenes are on the cutting room floor.

With so many scenes omitted from the final film, a lot of the problems people saw in the movie could have been fixed. No film is ever perfect, but Suicide Squad could’ve been greatly improved by including some of those dropped scenes. It leaves one wondering, would the reviews have been better if so much hadn’t been left on the cutting room floor.